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The Railway Club broke new ground during this play. The two long acts in the courtroom are followed by a short denouement in a bar somewhere as the acquitted sailors celebrate the verdict. In order to change the scene as quickly as possible, Ivor got the poor little beggars to sit in Room 6 with the lights out wearing dark glasses for about half an hour so they could rush on at the end of Act 2 and change the scenery in the dark! I kid you not!

It was a difficult play in many ways; all but the last ten minutes set in a court room, with a minimum of stage movement, except by the two briefs, and the various characters taking the witness stand. Many characters were on stage virtually the whole time (some saying absolutely nothing, like the members of the court martial panel). I played Maryk, the mutineer first mate, who had taken over command of the Caine from Captain Queeg (the inimitable ‘Moose’) during a storm, when the captain panicked. What made it difficult was that, even when you weren’t speaking (which may have been a long time), you still had to act by responding to all that was going on – especially in my case, as my future was on the line. Bob Scott was outstanding as Greenwald, the defence counsel, who has to destroy Queeg on the stand – much against his better judgment – in order to get his client off. Likewise Moose’s disintegration on the stand was brilliant. A great last play of my WGS career.